The Judge Said He Knew I Loved My Kids, Then Sent Them Away

Katie's daughter made her outcry on an ordinary evening, in the living room, while they folded laundry. Within two weeks the man responsible was arrested. Within a year, all three of Katie's kids had been removed from her home, and she was the one who packed their suitcases.This conversation with Justin Smith walks the whole road. The fear that comes from not knowing what a hearing is even for. The behaviors that showed up at home after the outcry and had nowhere to go. The family based safety services case. The psych eval where a doctor asked her a question nobody had asked before. And the hearing where a judge told her he knew she loved her kids, then sent them somewhere else anyway. Katie now runs a support group for birth parents in San Angelo and works with families moving through the same system she moved through.What she came back with is not a tidy ending. It is a working one. The kinship placements that taught her how to be consistent. The friend who would not force her son to talk to her. The staggered return that let one kid come home at a time. And the shift from asking what happened to her to asking what it happened for. If you foster, if you are thinking about it, or if you have ever wondered what the parent on the other side of the case is carrying, this is that side of it.CHAPTERS00:00 Packing For Removal01:03 Podcast Welcome02:26 Katie's Mission05:28 Life Before CPS08:10 The Outcry Night10:15 Children's Advocacy Center Interviews15:09 Keeping It Normal18:03 Behaviors After Trauma20:24 CPS Called On Katie22:58 Family Based Safety Services24:08 The Psych Eval Wake Up26:43 Removal Recommended29:11 The First Court Hearing32:38 The Quiet House35:04 Faith On The Drive36:45 Placements And Support39:11 A New PTSD Diagnosis39:49 Food Triggers And Medication40:41 Consistency During Visits41:41 Schedules And Scripture44:01 The Breakthrough With Her Son47:26 Reunified And Rebuilding48:15 Meeting Her Future Husband52:15 Biker Church And Reframing55:59 Staggered Reunification Plan59:27 Blended Family Growing Pains1:01:40 The Kids Today1:04:47 Advice For Foster Parents1:10:50 Choices Communication And Hope1:15:12 The Call To Show Up